


Adrenaline

by Rangergirl3



Series: Whumptober 2019 [13]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Keith (Voltron) Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-17 04:53:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21260867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rangergirl3/pseuds/Rangergirl3
Summary: A continuation of the ficlets where Matt and Olia are trying to give a severely injured and traumatized Keith medical attention.
Relationships: Keith & Olia (Voltron), Matt Holt & Keith, Matt Holt & Olia
Series: Whumptober 2019 [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1506101
Comments: 5
Kudos: 126





	Adrenaline

Olia takes stock of Keith's injuries. It's ugly. His wrists are still cuffed behind his back, and there's a steady stream of blood trickling down from his lower jaw. The worst injuries he sustained during the interrogation have been cauterized, true, but they need to stitch up the deepest of the remaining cuts and lacerations as soon as possible. 

But before then, it's best to make him as comfortable as possible. He's already gone through more than anyone should during a lifetime.

Matt offers to help her gather medical supplies, but she tells him to remain near Keith.

"Try to clear away the dried blood from his eyelids," she says. "If he can see, that might allow us to avoid..."

She swallows, remembering when Keith had recoiled away from her when she growled in anger at the sight of his injuries. It was an understandable reaction, especially from someone who had just undergone torture at the claws of Haxus, but...

Olia wants to avoid instilling fear in the near future, if at all possible, but even so, she moves swiftly, carefully, with maximum efficiency, gathering the medical supplies she needs. This shuttle's strength lies in stealth, not speed, or they would have already arrived at the Castle and put Keith in a healing pod by now. Given the circumstances, they're on something of a time limit. Keith's lost too much blood for them to delay further treatment.

"Matthew, do you think we can cut through the cuffs?"

Matt Holt swallows, shakes his head.

"I already checked. These ones are different than - then normal. Pidge is on her way with from Olkarion with specialized cutters, but - until then - "

He shrugs weakly, exhaustion showing through the gesture. 

Olia starts to growl in anger at Haxus' inventive cruelty, but stops herself just in time. The last time she had done that, the one called Keith had thought she was an enemy.

_He still might, once this is all over._

* * *

Keith wishes he could simply _will_ himself to fall unconscious, but his mind's never been good at agreeing with him as to when it should stop firing off signals to his body.

_His chest aches. It's hard to get enough air. _

He doesn't know why he's here, wherever 'here' is, but he's certain that he's not done hurting yet.

_It'll never stop. Not as long as Haxus has anything to do with it._

Faint, hazy, bleary sight returns to him just as claw-tipped fingers trace the left side of his face. The touch is light, but it sends adrenaline surging through his veins all the same. It screams out that a threat is near, that he's in _danger_, and what happens next is purely reflexive. 

_Get **away**!_

Keith jerks as far away from the person's touch as he can, opens his jaws, and bites down _hard_.

** _Don't touch me!_ **

There's a shout of pain as the clawed fingers vanish, but Keith's relief is short-lived, as another pair of hands takes hold of his face and holds his head still. Keith growls, but the person holding him down doesn't listen. 

_No one does._

* * *

To Matt's relief, Olia twists her fingers out from between Keith's teeth as quick as anything. Even though the bite marks are painful, Olia's injuries are not as bad as they could have been.

"Stars and comets, _ow_!"

At Olia's harsh exclamation of pain, Matt reaches down and, using both hands, keeps Keith's face firmly in place.

"Okay," he says, flinching when Keith flinches at his touch. "Olia? Olia, I got him -"

Keith growls something unintelligible and kicks out with his one good leg, narrowly missing Olia. Despite the situation, she raises an eyebrow at Matt's words.

"You - sure?" she asks, but Matt doesn't have the heart to smile.

Keith is so, _so_ scared.

Olia's eyes are sad as she turns her attention back to Keith.

"Paladin, open your eyes."

Keith can't shake his head, not with Matt holding it still like this, but the rebel leader senses Keith try, all the same. It's harder than it should be, given that the youngest Blade's arms are trembling from the strain of being locked into place for so long, and Matt curses Haxus silently for doing this to his friend.

* * *

_A voice tells him to look at them._

Panting for air, Keith squirms in place, twisting his shoulders from side to side in an effort to break free, but but whoever these people are, they know what they're doing. One of them holds his head in place against the ground as the other one talks. When clawed fingertips come to rest against his chin, Keith tries to keep his teeth tight shut, but the fingertips are strong. Slowly but surely, they begin to pull his jaws open. 

Panic overwhelms him.

_No, no, **no**!_

With an effort, he wrenches his face free and snaps his jaws shut again, but this time, his red-stained teeth only close on empty air. 

Before he can move, someone's taken hold of his jaws and forced them shut with two hands, the palm of one hand applying steady pressure just under his chin, tilting his head back, the other palm clamped firmly down over his mouth.

The message is clear.

_**Stop**._

Terror freezes Keith into place.

* * *

Olia sighs, then speaks slowly, clearly, and carefully.

"You have sustained injuries to your upper and lower jaw," she says. "We need to apply bandages and pressure to the injuries to reduce the bleeding. Do you understand me?"

* * *

Someone speaks firmly, but Keith doesn't hear or understand the words.

_He's too afraid._

* * *

Matt swallows. 

"Olia - should we -"

She shakes her head.

"Trust me, Matthew," she says. 

* * *

The pressure against Keith's chin doesn't disappear, but it does lessen somewhat.

_He still doesn't dare move._

* * *

"Now, no biting," Olia says, sternly, but more kindly this time. "Understand?"

Keith doesn't so much as twitch.

Matt swallows. Olia isn't being unnecessarily rough, or mean, but -

Keith's still too afraid to even open his eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are AWESOME!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 Especially when marathoning at the end of Whumptober <3 <3 <3


End file.
